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Senate passes amended Appropriations Act after marathon amendments; bill heads to House
Summary
After several hours of line-item and intent amendments, the Utah Senate passed its amended second Appropriations Act (Senate Bill 3). Key amendments added targeted funds, reallocated line items and inserted intent language addressing potential federal funding losses tied to other child-protection legislation. The amended bill passed 19–8 and is sent to the House for consideration.
The Utah Senate on March 3 adopted an amended version of Senate Bill 3, the chamber's second Appropriations Act for the session, after extended debate and multiple line-item amendments.
Senator Steele, who led floor consideration of the bill, introduced or consented to several amendments aimed at restoring an item inadvertently omitted from another act, adding $75,000 from the general fund for a highway-patrol vehicle-use matter, and inserting various intent provisions addressing program priorities and contingency funding.
Senator Suazo offered and discussed an amendment to move a $35,000 line (originally associated with a different bill) into funding for the Utah Boxing Commission as one-time support to develop amateur and professional boxing programs; that amendment was debated and adopted as part of the bill. Senators debated intent language tied to transit operating guarantees, how Olympic-related sales-tax distributions would be used, and a provision directing where to take any loss of federal child-welfare funding tied to pending child-protection statute changes.
Supporters said the package balanced statutory priorities and responded to negotiations in executive appropriations; opponents raised concerns about the appropriateness of some intent language and the use of one-time funds for ongoing costs. Senator Stevenson urged caution about broad immunity or protections elsewhere in the session and warned against reducing incentives for agencies to fix Y2K-type problems, a point taken up in separate debate.
On final roll call the Senate recorded 19 ayes, 8 nays and 2 absent; the amended bill was returned to the House for its consideration. The Senate also adopted a number of separate, identified intent amendments and line-item insertions during floor consideration.
The Senate debate produced several recorded actions and substituted language that House conferees will review once the bill reaches the other chamber.
